Art Classes

Ink and wash – classical sculptures

Ink and wash – classical sculptures

This term we are going back to basics and focusing on different painting or drawing tools. And this week it’s back to basics with our subject matter – classical sculptures. We have a few plaster casts in the studio, and I printed out some pictures of Greek and Roman statues to choose from. Taking inspiration from this Access Art session, I introduced the use of pen and ink – in which we find the shadows using a soft brush and coloured ink, using…

It’s story book time!

It’s story book time!

This week I asked the kids to make book covers. What book was up to them, and what age. I showed them some examples, and we talked about what makes a good cover, how you need to match the font to the style and content of the book, how book covers indicate for what age they are meant etc. And then of course, some weren’t satisfied with just a cover and made a whole book! Some of our older children wanted instead to…

Coloured acetate text art

Coloured acetate text art

This week I took inspiration from a painting by my grandmother, who was also an artist. She often worked with text, and in this painting she painted her letters in transparent layers so that the colours change when they overlap. The kids used coloured acetate to create a similar effect and, understandably for some, the technique suggested pictures or patterns rather than text.  

Building houses out of fabric

Building houses out of fabric

foThe last two weeks of term we managed to build and paint spectacular houses, as well as finish off the hats, the transfers and anything else left finsihed ready for the exhibition next week. The houses were made with cotton fabric stiffened with PVA, a technique learned from fabric artist Angie Hughe.  This was done before the class and left to dry outside in the sun. The result was a fabric that behaved more like card, so it could hold its shape, particularly…

Wire and fabric sculptures

Wire and fabric sculptures

This week we used wire and fabric to make amazing sculptures. The idea came from Access Art but we didn’t use plinths this time, and the kids didn’t stick to people. The basic technique is to make a simple wire sculpture – e.g. a stick figure – and to cover it in strips of fabric ( I used a sheet from a charity shop). We used thin wire to keep wrapped around the fabric to keep it in place. Then they cut up…

Making paper fabric for a catwalk!

Making paper fabric for a catwalk!

This week the kids used all manner of pattern making techniques to create a wonderfully vibrant fashion catwalk – with cardboard human and other animal mannequins. The process was simple enough – but the results certainly weren’t. We had scarfs, saris, hats, capes, boots – you name it! Using techniques such as scarffito (sratching into wet paint to reveal a painted layer underneath) and stenciling they first made their ‘fabric’ by covering a piece of A4 paper with their pattern design. While these…

Half term arty fun!

Half term arty fun!

This half term we had another eclectic mix of activities on offer. The sculpture activities seemed particularly popular – including making abstract sculptures out of bike parts, more delicate sculptures out of wet toilet paper (surprisingly able to hold a shape) and of course many varied and imaginative cardboard creations! This time we also had a few bold children embarking on a 3-day project in which a small group designed and constructed a fish tank, complete with a futuristic city inside – called…

Exploring paper weaving

Exploring paper weaving

This week I showed the kids some basic, and some more complex, ways of weaving with paper. With help from Naomi Kendall, who provided this helpful post on the subject, we made some beautiful designs,  using both strips of coloured paper and strips of magazines to make some v beautiful patterns. Of course, you don’t need to keep to the regular patterns I demonstrated. Some adventurous children deviated from the patterns with strips of different widths, as well as colours which did not…

Paper mosaics

Paper mosaics

Week 2 and this week we made paper mosaics. But we weren’t limiting ourselves to the simple, regular square types, oh no. We had strips, rectangles, dots, the lot! And used magazines as well as coloured card. A really simple technique, ideal for the younger ones, is to cover a piece of paper in strips and then on the reverse draw the outline of an animal  (remember to choose an animal that is recognisable from its silhouettes – so generally this means side-on).…